Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Last updated
Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Herzogtum Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg (German)
1672–1826
Flag of Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg.svg
Flag
Middle Arms of the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg.svg
Coat of arms
Locator Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1680).svg
Territories of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg within the Ernestine duchies of Thuringia, before 1826
Status State of the Holy Roman Empire,
State of the Confederation of the Rhine,
State of the German Confederation
Capital Gotha
Government Duchy
Duke 
 1680–1691
Frederick I (first)
 1822–1825
Frederick IV (last)
Historical era Early modern Europe
1672
 Duchy established
1672
 Partitioned between Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Saxe-Hildburghausen
1826
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Armoiries Saxe2.svg Saxe-Gotha
Flag white green 5x3.svg Saxe-Altenburg
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Flagge Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha (1911-1920).svg
Saxe-Hildburghausen Blason Duche de Saxe-Hildbourghausen.svg

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (German : Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg) was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany. The extinction of the line in 1825 led to a major re-organisation of the Thuringian states.

Contents

History

Friedenstein Castle, Gotha Schloss-Friedenstein01.JPG
Friedenstein Castle, Gotha

In 1640 the sons of the late Ernestine duke John II of Saxe-Weimar divided their paternal heritage (Ernestinische Teilung) whereby Duke Ernest the Pious, a younger son, received the newly established Duchy of Saxe-Gotha. In 1636 Ernest had married Elisabeth Sophie, the only child of Duke John Philip of Saxe-Altenburg. Upon her father's death in 1639, the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg passed to her uncle Duke Frederick William II and her cousin Frederick William III.

The Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was nominally created in 1672, when Duke Frederick William III of Saxe-Altenburg died at the age of 14 and Ernest the Pious, by his marriage with Elisabeth Sophie, inherited the major part of his possessions. It was common for the Ernestine duchies to merge and split; Ernest's combined duchy was divided again after his death in 1675, and the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg proper came into existence in 1680 with the completion of this division and the accession of his eldest son, Frederick to the subdivision centered on the towns of Gotha and Altenburg.

Frederick had already served as regent in Saxe-Altenburg since 1672 and assumed responsibility for government affairs from his diseased father two years later. His residence remained at Friedenstein Castle in Gotha, he also had the Baroque palace of Friedrichswerth built nearby. Frederick I decisively secured his family's possessions with the implementation of the primogeniture in 1685. His son and successor Duke Frederick II gained further Ernestine territories upon the death of Duke Albert V of Saxe-Coburg in 1699 and Duke Christian of Saxe-Eisenberg in 1707.

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg remained one of the mightiest Ernestine duchies under the rule of Duke Frederick III from 1732. He had the palaces and gardens in Gotha rebuilt in a lavish Baroque style and supported the religious refugees of the Moravian Church in Neudietendorf. His sister Augusta married Prince Frederick of Wales in 1736, their first-born son George III was crowned King of Great Britain and Ireland in 1760. Frederick made his court a centre of the Enlightenment (Aufklärung), continued by his son and successor Ernest II, who ruled from 1772. At the instigation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, he promoted the painting oeuvre of Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein; he also appointed Franz Xaver von Zach director of the Gotha Observatory established in 1787.

Nevertheless, when the last dukes Emil August, a fervent admirer of the rise of Napoleon, and his brother Frederick IV had both died without male heirs, the house of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg finally became extinct in 1825 and quarrels arose between the three remaining Ernestine lines about the succession. As a result of an arbitration issued by King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony in 1826, the Ernestine duchies were rearranged and Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was again split:

After the abolition of German monarchies in the course of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, all former duchies became part of the newly created state of Thuringia in 1920.

Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

See also

Related Research Articles

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Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to 1918. In November 1918, Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, was forced to abdicate. In 1920, the northern part of the duchy was merged with six other Thuringian free states to form the Free State of Thuringia: Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Altenburg and Saxe-Meiningen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, as well as the People's State of Reuss. The southern part of the duchy, as southernmost of the Thuringian states, was the only one which, after a referendum, became part of the Free State of Bavaria.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Wettin</span> German noble and royal family

The House of Wettin was a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, Saxony-Anhalt. The Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of several medieval states, starting with the Saxon Eastern March in 1030. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, and Saxony in 1423. These areas cover large parts of Central Germany as a cultural area of Germany.

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Saxe-Altenburg was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a population of 207,000 (1905) of whom about one fifth resided in the capital, Altenburg. The territory of the duchy consisted of two non-contiguous territories separated by land belonging to the Principality of Reuss-Gera. Its economy was based on agriculture, forestry, and small industry. The state had a constitutional monarchical form of government with a parliament composed of thirty members chosen by male taxpayers over 25 years of age.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg</span> Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, was a duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. He was born in Gotha, the fourth but eldest surviving son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg and Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg</span> Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg from 1732 to 1772

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg</span> German duke (1745–1804)

Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was the reigning Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg from 1772 to 1804. He was the third but second surviving son of Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Luise Dorothea of Saxe-Meiningen. The death of his older brother Frederick in 1756 made him the heir to the duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg</span> Duchess of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha</span> Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saxe-Römhild</span>

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References